First Hand Gun Purchase *First Post*

[mrfobbyaccent]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Angelo and I am in the market for a hand gun. First and foremost, I'm not a seasoned shooter and I'm re-learning how to use a firearm. I used to shoot with my father in high school, but I stopped shortly after that. I am now picking it up again.

I'm looking to purchase a hand gun strictly for home defense purposes. I've lived at home all my life and my father has had a plethora of firearms all around our home. I've been fortunate enough to purchase a home with my wife this year, which leads to my reason on why I would like to purchase one.

This forum is great and it has tons and tons of information on how to choose your first handgun. In fact, I believe there is too much information and I get lost in translation on trying to figure out what to get. From what I've gathered it's either purchase a glock or go to the range and rent some handguns.

Well, there are tons of guns to rent at the range and renting just 1 gun is not cheap. Where I go it's $20 to rent a handgun, $20 for range fee's, and $25 for ammunition. I'm also taking my wife along with me so she gets acquainted with guns herself, so multiply the range fee x2.

My question is, other than a glock what would you all recommend for your first hand gun purchase? I shot a Springfield XD and a Glock 17 last week and besides the way it gripped, both felt the same. I understand grip is very important, and I preferred the glock. I'm trying to stay within the 600-1k price range, so any recommendations along those lines would be great.

I've gone shooting twice now within the past month and I've shot shotguns, AR's and handguns. I've learned that this is strictly just a home protection item and not a sport/hobby for me. Due to this, I don't plan on altering any parts on the handgun I purchase.

Thanks for everyones time!
Angelo

[IVC]

You're on the right track and as much as I'm not a Glock fanboi, it's a very sensible choice for first or even the only gun.

[DArBad]

Smith & Wesson 686 (.357 magnum revolver). You can use mild.38 special ammunition for practise and inexpensive shooting familiarity and for the serious stuff, you can use a full house .357 magnum ammo.

It fills perfectly your requirement of " just a home protection item and not a sport/hobby ".

[Bastard]

welcome to Calguns.

even with the market the way it is right now - for a first gun get a Glock 17 or 19 depending on which feels better in the hand. While I am not the biggest fan of Glock the make a good, rather great, gun and with all things considered I don't think you could find a better entry point into being a gun owner.

[CWL]

Welcome Angelo! Unfortunately, now is a tough time to decide on buying a firearm but I'm glad you've made the decision to protect self & wife.

First, is there anything that your father can give you that will serve as a defensive firearm? This would be the fastest & cheapest way, to do an intra-familial transfer.

If not, let's move forward. If you like Glock, get a Glock, but I suggest you also at least try holding a G19, which is smaller and often preferred over the larger G17. It might fit your wife's hands better. And stick with the most common 9mm models.

If you can find a CZ-75, take a look. These are excellent pistols.

Perhaps even a shotgun?

[Featureless]

Welcome Angelo and hang around here. Check us out and discover.

[mrfobbyaccent]

Smith & Wesson 686 (.357 magnum revolver). You can use mild.38 special ammunition for practise and inexpensive shooting familiarity and for the serious stuff, you can use a full house .357 magnum ammo.

It fills perfectly your requirement of " just a home protection item and not a sport/hobby ".

I forgot to mention that my wife will also need to handle this firearm. She has small hands and the recoil on the glock 17 was already taking a toll on her. She only shot 2 magazines and had to take a break.

Do you think a .357 would be adequate for her as well? I know the true way of finding out is renting one at the range, but it is pricy. I don't want to rent one when I know she will say she doesn't like it after taking the first shot.

I thank you for your feedback and response!

[LindenBruce]

Welcome. Maybe have her try the Glock 19. Also, consider a .357 revolver, which can be safely shot with .38 special ammo for reduced recoil. Pick something with standard sights preferably night sights. B.

[mrfobbyaccent]

Welcome Angelo! Unfortunately, now is a tough time to decide on buying a firearm but I'm glad you've made the decision to protect self & wife.

First, is there anything that your father can give you that will serve as a defensive firearm? This would be the fastest & cheapest way, to do an intra-familial transfer.

If not, let's move forward. If you like Glock, get a Glock, but I suggest you also at least try holding a G19, which is smaller and often preferred over the larger G17. It might fit your wife's hands better. And stick with the most common 9mm models.

If you can find a CZ-75, take a look. These are excellent pistols.

Perhaps even a shotgun?

Thank you for the feedback.

My father and I had a lot of arguments in the past on firearms. Thus, my falling out on using it. Without getting into the details, I would much rather purchase one then asking him for one of his. You may quickly realize that I was not a big gun fan when I was younger and in a way I'm still not. In all of this, I do realize that we don't live in a perfect world, which is why I'm here.

I've asked for his advice on what to purchase and he gave me one answer which was a Sig P226. He also advised me to not purchase a glock as he hates them. Unfortunately, finding one is difficult and it's also out of my price range.

[CWL]

She won't like shooting a .357 magnum HOWEVER you can also shoot .38 special bullets from the same gun.

If recoil is a problem for your wife, then look at steel handguns which will be heavier and better absorb some of the recoil. Like I wrote above, a CZ-75 pistol is worth taking a look at and they are priced similar to Glocks (the basic versions)

Add: Sig P226 is a great pistol, but smaller hands will have problems with the grip size and being able to reach trigger. Yes, can be quite expensive compared to Glocks.

[jeremiah12]

You have come to the right place to get good advice. Many will be along shortly with lots of great advice.

Glocks are great guns and are relatively cheap and easy to learn to shoot. Some people do not like their triggers and other are okay with them. Many new shooters consider a Glock for a first gun because of name recognition.

First and foremost, if this is for home defense, you need to practice regularly. Many make the mistake of buying a gun for home defense then putting it away somewhere and never practice with it. If the time ever comes up to use it for defense, the person is not ready to do so. In a defensive situation, your stress level is high and it is not the time to figure out how to use the gun. It has to be an automatic response which only comes from lots of practice.

Really, the best way is to pay for instruction. Even one introduction to handgun class is worth several years of you just going to the range to shoot. You will get instruction on the fundamentals rather than learn all sorts of bad habits that you will later have to unlearn.

I know gun rentals seem high at $20 a gun. Purchasing the wrong gun is even more costly. When I purchased my first gun, I bought the wrong gun. I then bought a second gun. It was also the wrong one. My third one was the right one to learn to shoot with. After I took a couple of classes with that one, then I learned to shoot with my second one which became my self-defense gun.

The gun you use to learn to shoot with may not be the one that is best for self-defense. Now, if you are talking about home defense, then the two can be the same.

It is best to learn on a full size gun. These can be used for home defense. For me, I use a sub-compact at home because I can conceal carry it on my person easily so it is easily accessible and no one knows I have it. I live in a neighborhood that has gone downhill recently and home invasions have increased. So I want a gun on my person at all times just in case.

If you are really looking for a Glock, I would suggest a G17 or G19. Both are 9mm. The G17 is the full size and the G19 is slightly smaller compact.

In CA you have to deal with the Roster of not unsafe handguns. You can only buy guns that are on the roster from a FFL. That means you can only by generation 3 Glocks. You can buy off-roster handguns from private parties but you have to go to a FFL to conduct the transaction. Those purchases often cost more because they are harder to find and one just cannot go into a gun store to buy them.

Personally, I would rent several guns and try them before buying. It is cheaper than buying a gun you later find does not work for you. The other thing is to try out some guns another person has. If you give us an idea of the area of the state you live in, someone might let you try out a few of their guns. It is not the best time right now for this though with the ammo shortage and the high cost of ammo.

I live in Central Valley near Sacramento and would be willing to met you at a gun range to let you try out a few of my Glocks. I also have an all metal 9mm. It is a 1945 Star Model B made in Spain under contract for the German police but never delivered. It is a nice shooting gun. It will give you an idea of the difference between a plastic gun and an all metal gun in felt recoil.

[XDJYo]

Hi-Welcome to Calguns! Wonderful place and some good advice here.

Renting will be difficult due to Covid restrictions. You're on the right track though, a Glock 17/19 are great first time pistols. The XD9 is also very good. Both are simple in operation. You can concentrate on learning how to shoot vs. how to operate them.

DO NOT buy a small/cute/lightweight gun, especially to cater to the wife. Make sure she is comfortable. There are women-only training classes. Women do have physical challenges when shooting a gun.

You both should get trained. If you post your location, I'm sure someone will chime in with a suggestion on where to go for training. That said, I really like Front Sight's 4 day class. It's a TON of fun and is a great vacation. They train many, many women there.

Mostly, enjoy it and be safe.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Nothing wrong with a Springfield XD as a first firearm and is great for home defense. I recently picked one up and chose it over the Glock for a few reasons. I preferred the grip angle on the XD over the Glock, felt like the fit and finish was a little more refined on the XD, and it was quite a bit cheaper thank the Glock. I used that money to buy a rail mounted Olight and some extra mags. Also ended up putting on some Trijicon XD HR sights and have to say this pistol is super fun to shoot. Dead accurate and nearly no recoil. Took it to the range the other day along with a 1911 and Beretta M9A1 and was super impressed with the XD9.

[jeremiah12]

I forgot to mention that my wife will also need to handle this firearm. She has small hands and the recoil on the glock 17 was already taking a toll on her. She only shot 2 magazines and had to take a break.

Do you think a .357 would be adequate for her as well? I know the true way of finding out is renting one at the range, but it is pricy. I don't want to rent one when I know she will say she doesn't like it after taking the first shot.

I thank you for your feedback and response!

The question is was it the recoil or the size of the G17? Many find the G17 to be too large to comfortably fit their hands. The G19 is a bit smaller and has a smaller grip. The felt recoil may be less if one is able to grip it better.

The reasoning behind a .357 revolver is you can also shoot .38 out of it. It is adequate for self-defense and has less felt recoil. A revolver designed for .357 will tend to be heavier. A heavier gun better absorbs recoil so the shooter feels less of the recoil. Shooting .38 through it will lessen the felt recoil even more.

With a semiautomatic, some people have problems racking the slide. In a high stress situation, if one has a failure to fire or a jam, one has to clear it and load another round. This can be hard under stress and is a skill that has to be practiced. For a person who will not practice this, a revolver might be better because a failure to fire only requires the person to pull the trigger again and this causes the next round to move into place to be fired. There is less of a learning curve for revolvers.

An all metal semiauto also has less felt recoil than a Glock would have. So people who are recoil sensitive often like the all metal guns over Glocks.

I started my son on Glocks. He has since gotten away from then now that he is on his own and started buying his own guns. He prefers the all metal guns because he wants as little felt recoil as possible. He is taller than I am. Recoil does not bother me because I grew up with guns and learned from an early age to deal with it.

[sanjoseskater]

Get a cz 75b 9mm probally easier to find right now and a better gun. All metal means less recoil, easy to clean and has a safety